Shareware is a marketing method, not a type of software. The phrase "Try Before
You Buy" is more descriptive. Unlike software marketed through normal retail
channels, where you are forced to pay for the product before you've even seen
it, the shareware marketing method lets you try program for a period of time
before you buy it. Since you've tried a shareware program, you know whether it
will meet your needs before you pay for it. Shareware programs are just like
programs you find in major stores, catalogs, and other places where people
purchase software -- except you get to use them, on your own computer, before
paying for them.